


Ace of Spades: The Beginning

by teamcalebmalphas



Series: Laven Week (August 7-13) [1]
Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Laven Week, Laven Week 2017, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 13:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11737806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamcalebmalphas/pseuds/teamcalebmalphas
Summary: It's Laven Week...I chose to connect every day into one story. Zombie apocalypse au. Fun stuff.





	Ace of Spades: The Beginning

Lavi carefully made his way to the creek they’d been following for…how long had it been? A week? Yeah, it had to be a week. He and his grandfather stumbled upon this creek a week ago when they left their last group of survivors. They never stuck around too long, thinking that they could survive longer if they kept moving and didn’t form attachments outside of themselves. The two have been alone since they left, following the creek until they either run into another group or need to go searching for food.

Kneeling on the bank, Lavi scooped water into his hands and poured it over his head. The temperatures have been rising in the past few days and today was the worst of them. Odd, since it was supposed to be getting colder. It was October, right? He couldn’t be wrong about that…perhaps he was and it was still August. No, not possible. The leaves were various colors, so it was autumn.

The water was on the cold side which felt good when it slid down his face and neck. He repeated the action a few more times before sitting back and watching the leave float down the creek. The sun began setting so half the sky was already speckled with stars. Silence floated on the hot air as he elected to sit and just…exist in it for a second. They were constantly on the move so he never had a chance to simply enjoy living. It was kind of challenging since the dead reanimated. There weren’t any in sight currently and he couldn’t hear any. This was his moment to—

“Lavi!”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “What do you want, old man?”

He was suddenly hit on the back of his head. “Don’t call me old man! And we need to move before a herd comes through here.”

Lavi looked over his shoulder at the short man who adopted him several years ago. “I don’t hear anything. I don’t see anything. Can’t I just sit and enjoy living for a moment? The world kinda sucks ass right now and I just want to exist peacefully for a few minutes.”

“You can exist peacefully while walking.”

Huffing, Lavi stood and brushed off his pants. “Fine. You win. Lead on.” He took one of the backpacks from his grandpa.

The colored leaves crunched under their feet as they moved. As they walked, Lavi ran his fingers through his hair, attempting to make the strands stand before fixing the headband on his forehead. They let the silence fill the void of conversation, walking until the sun was almost enveloped by the mountains.

Lavi stopped abruptly, sniffing the air.

“What is it?”

“Fire.”

He took the lead, following his nose up a hill and away from the creek. Conversation flowed into their ears the closer they got. The moment they were in full view of the fire, the clicking of guns replaced words. Flashlights blinded them.

“Wait!” Lavi said. “We’re living.”

“How many of you are there?” one of them asked.

“Just us.” his grandfather responded. “We’ve been walking along the creek for several days and we mean you no harm.”

Lavi counted three visible members of this group. He couldn’t hear anyone hiding but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.

“What are your names?” the first one spoke again.

“I go by my last name, Bookman, and this is my grandson Lavi.”

Lavi felt their gazes on him. He wasn’t sure how they’d feel about the eyepatch. Usually it was unsettling to people in their past groups, but sometimes people ignored it. Gauging their faces, from what he could see through the light they held in his face, he couldn’t sense anything negative.

“Have you killed any people?”

“Only if it meant saving them.” Lavi said and he could feel the punch the Old Panda would give him later for saying that.

The three holding them at gunpoint shifted looks to each other before lowering the guns and the flashlights, just enough so they weren’t blind.

“We’re taking a dinner break before heading back to the main group. If you would like to join us, you can. I doubt our leader would object. I’m Reever. This is Choaji and Russell.”

They exchanged pleasantries and shared their food with Lavi and Bookman. Lavi didn’t say much until they reached the main group. They had set up in an abandoned camp ground, living in the semicircle of cabins like it was a small community. People milled about, going from cabin to cabin or fire pit to fire pit. Someone ran up to meet them, a shorter man—no shorter than the Old Panda—with large glasses. Reever told him to get Komui and the man was gone as fast as he appeared. This was probably the largest group they had joined, but they wouldn’t be here long and there may be a group out there larger than this one. Looking around Chaoji and Russell had vanished the moment they arrived. _Reever must be second in command,_ Lavi deduced.

“Komui,” Reever spoke, pulling Lavi out of his thoughts. The man standing before them appeared eerily professional for the apocalypse. “We met these two on our way back. They seem safe, and I extended an offer to stay with us, but you have the ultimate say.”

“What is your experience killing the undead?” Komui asked them.

Bookman responded before Lavi could. “Lavi has gotten excellent killing the zombies with either an axe or sledgehammer. I may be old, but I can hold my own. My aim with throwing knives is unopposed.”

Komui studied them, failing to find them threatening. “You two can stay for as long as you like if you pull your weight.”

Bookman bowed his head. “Thank you. We appreciate it.”

“Feel free to roam around and get to know some people.” Komui said. “I’ll find a place for you two to sleep and keep your stuff.”

Lavi didn’t need to be told twice, splitting off from the three of them and wandering around. These people knew each other well, survivors usually did when they were in groups. They may not have known each other from before the end, but they came together and protect one another. He wondered what that felt like, having more than one person willing to have your back because they cared about you, not just because you had theirs. He wanted that.

Not like he was going to tell the old man that, though.

Lavi noticed a few people hanging outside of a cabin, peering in through the windows or the open door. Curiosity led him over and he stood in the doorway to find the room illuminated by various battery powered camping lanterns. A small group of people sat in a circle playing cards. The one sitting directly in front of Lavi with his back facing him had long blond hair kept in a neat braid. He sat with his legs crossed and his head in one hand. To blondie’s left was a guy with long black hair… _long_ black hair. A katana was leaned against the bed post his back was against. His expression warned off anyone from saying anything to him ever. Grinning to himself, Lavi decided he’s have fun messing with him. A couple of girls sat across from the black haired guy, both pretty and a little distressed. Well, one of them was distressed enough for everyone watching. The one sitting at the circle’s twelve o’clock had a hood pulled over his head. He was relaxed, maybe even cocky. He was probably winning the game.

Lavi leaned over to whisper to the person next to him. “Poker?”

The guy snorted. “Yeah, if you can call it that. I don’t know why they play against him. They always end up losing. I don’t know if you can call it poker if the game is always rigged.”

Interesting. The one at the end called and laid out his hand. Lavi’s eyes widened and his brows shot up. A royal straight flush. No way. The guy who won laughed.

“Don’t worry, Kanda. You’ll win one day. Maybe.” He said to the guy with the katana. He growled in response.

Blondie handed his cards to the winner and stood, leaving without saying a word. Lavi had to step aside to let him by, almost getting run over when he tried to move back to his spot when Kanda stormed out. Damn, he was a grouch.

“I don’t know why you guys keep playing him if you know you’re going to lose.” One of the guys hanging in the window said to the girls.

“Because someday I’m going to catch him cheating. Or I’ll beat him. One of the two.” The younger of the two responded.

“Yeah, like that’ll ever happened.”

“Hey,” She said. “The undead walk the earth. Anything is possible. I feel like—”

Lavi stopped listening at that point, feeling the weight of someone watching him. Glancing around, he couldn’t find anyone. Until he turned around, facing the inside of the cabin.

He was being watched by the guy who won the game. His cheeks warmed and he tried to yank his gaze away to anything else but he was entranced. The boy smiled at him as he shuffled the deck. Lavi momentarily forgot there were other people there until he stood and said he was done for the night. Everyone began to disperse around Lavi but the two of them stood there, frozen in their spots. When time caught up with Lavi, the boy was in front of him.

“Hi,” he smiled. “I’m Allen.”

“Lavi.”

Head tilted, he said, “You’re new, right? Kind of unfortunate for me that you first saw me in a poker game. Takes away the excitement of kicking your ass.”

“You’re confident.” Lavi remarked.

Allen laughed. “I’ve been playing poker for just under a decade. I know what I’m doing and more.”

“How do you know I won’t beat you? Maybe I’m just a little better than you.”

Gray eyes studied his face, half a smile curling on Allen’s face. “I’d like to take you up on that challenge someday. So, Lavi, where are you from?”

“Far away.”

Allen smiled even more. “Are you tired, or are you up for a walk?”

“I can walk.”

“Good. Follow me.”

Allen led him away from the open area and the group into the woods. They trudged up a hill, avoiding trees and roots out to trip them. It was quite the workout. They stopped at the top of the hill, going passed where the trees halted. They walked to the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vast amount of woods and in the distance, thanks to the moonlight, Lavi could see a city. A full moon was climbing the sky through a sea of darkness and starry islands. He turned to Allen and found him sitting on the grass right beside him.

“This is my favorite spot. To be honest, sometimes when I’m supposed to be patrolling I’ll come up here. Doesn’t matter what time of day. Nighttime is my favorite, mostly because I don’t sleep much. If I’m going to be awake, may as well look at something…breathtaking.” Allen told him as Lavi sat beside him. “I noticed you have a couple handles sticking out of your book bag. Weapons?”

Lavi suddenly remembered the bag he had on his back. “Uh, yeah. An axe and a sledgehammer.”

Allen’s eyebrows rose. “Really? Isn’t it hard swinging a sledgehammer around in the middle of a zombie pack?”

Lavi shrugged. “Not really. I’ve gotten used to it. The old man I came here with told me to just pretend it’s an extension of myself. So I did and every time I use it…it is me. It’s weightless.”

“Huh. Fascinating.” Allen said. “I don’t know if I have a weapon of choice. I guess I’m pretty versatile, anywhere from a gun to a blade.”

“I’m not a fan of guns. They make too much noise and attract the wrong attention.”

Allen nodded, hugging his knees to his chest and looking up at the sky. His hood fell back to reveal stark white hair. Lavi gasped. Originally he thought it was light blond, but the light from the lanterns must have screwed with his vision.

“Lavi?”

“Yeah?” Yanked out of his own thoughts again. He had to stop falling into them so much.

“I said I understand where you’re coming from. But I see an advantage in have someone who can use multiple weapons.” Allen squinted at him. “Is something wrong?”

Lavi looked away. “What’s with the white hair?”

Allen shrugged. “Oh, the classic traumatic childhood. Dying my hair gave me the illusion that I was no longer that kid. I chose white because no one dyes their hair white.”

“And what about the car over your eye?” Lavi dared to ask.

“Zombie accident.” Allen answered immediately. “I’m lucky I can see. Speaking of…why the eyepatch?”

Lavi grinned at him. “If I’m around long enough, maybe I’ll tell you.”

Allen, somewhat satisfied with that answer, remained quiet. Lavi glanced over at him. He was busy watching the sky, as if the answers to ending this hell of a world would appear in the stars. This boy was interesting…hypnotizing. He was confident and almost carefree. There was a weight behind his gaze, something a lot of people had these days. But never before had Lavi wanted to unlock someone else’s past.

“You know, I like you, Allen.” Lavi said.

“Thanks. You’re not half bad yourself.”

Lavi smiled to himself, a warm feeling radiating inside his chest. No one had ever said anything like that to him. Not even before the end of everything. Lavi wouldn’t claim to be the most skeptical person alive—zombies did in fact rise—but there were somethings that just didn’t exist. Allen? He made Lavi start to believe that maybe fate had something in store for them.


End file.
